Atonement
by HopeInDespair
Summary: An argument over what route to take eventually leads to something far more sinister... (yaoi themes in later chapters)
1. Default Chapter

I've written a lot of fanfiction, but I've never posted here before. I started writing this quite a while ago, but decided it was worth giving another go. Let me know what you think.

**Warning: This story will contain yaoi themes and violence in later chapters, but it's rather light for now.**

**Storyline: The story is set somewhere before they all meet Duskmon, but after they all have their beast spirits. Just assume that they've all gotten semi-close to each other.**

**Atonement **

**Chapter 1**

"Remind me again, why are we crossing this deathtrap when there's a new bridge two miles downstream?"

"Because Kouji, this way is faster and it is NOT a deathtrap. This bridge is perfectly safe."

Kouji sighed as he looked down on the fraying ropes and rotten boards of the rather decrepit looking bridge that the digidestined had decided to cross. Actually, it was more like Takuya had decided and, surprisingly, Kouji was the only one who objected to the idea.

"Come on Kouji," said Junpei, who was, along with Izumi, being dragged onto the bridge by Takuya. "So long as we don't rock it or anything, It'll be fine."

Kouji watched them bungle across the bridge with little Tomoki following carefully, trying to keep up with his older comrades. Kouji sighed in defeat and began to cross as well. He stepped cautiously, noting the obvious cracks in the warped, wooden planks. The others were not being nearly as careful, trudging along as if they were on solid ground.

Fate was very obviously against him, because Kouji's fears were soon realized as he heard a loud crack and looked up just in time to see Tomoki fall through the rotten boards. He rushed to the side of the bridge and watched Tomoki disappear beneath the waters. The others had made it across the bridge and were just realizing what had happened. Knowing he was the only one in any position to do anything, Kouji leaped over the rope railing and dived headfirst into the water.

He let out a small gasp as he hit the water. It was freezing and the waves on the surface were rough. Kouji dove below the surface and began his search for Tomoki, hoping that he hadn't already been washed downstream.

Back up on the bridge, the three remaining dig destined were panicked. They leaned over the rope railing, looking earnestly for any sign of their missing friends. They all breathed a sigh of relief when Kouji resurfaced, gasping for air.

"Kouji!" Takuya yelled, "Are you okay? Where's Tomoki?"

"I'm fine!" Kouji yelled back, struggling against the current that seemed to grow stronger by the second. "I don't see him, But I'm going back down!"

With that, Kouji disappeared beneath the water again, this time leaving his striped bandana to float downstream. He dived down as far as he could and looked around quickly, fighting his body's natural urge to float. It was then that he spotted Tomoki a couple of meters away. He was struggling weakly, caught up in some vegetation on the river bottom.

Swimming over quickly, Kouji tore at the water plants around the boys legs. His body was craving air and he knew that Tomoki would not last much longer. When the small boy was freed, Kouji took him over his shoulder and pushed off towards the surface. Swimming as quickly as his legs would propel him, Kouji rocketed towards the surface. His lungs were empty and he was getting weaker.

Meanwhile, the other children had finally gathered their wits together and were looking on with worry. A second sigh of relief and then a cheer could be heard when Kouji finally resurfaced with Tomoki. Izumi, being the most level-headed of the three, realized first what was needed and spirit evolved to Fairymon. Flying down to the two figures in the water, she gently took the sputtering Tomoki into her arms. She tried to raise Kouji as well, but he stopped her.

"You can't carry both of us. We'll all end up drowned that way. You just take him and I'll swim to shore."

Fairymon nodded her agreement and Kouji watched her take off with Tomoki before starting for shore. It was difficult. The current hadn't grown stronger, but he was tired from the rescue efforts. He watched Fairymon land on shore and devolve to look after Tomoki. Takuya and Junpei were also hurrying to the water's edge. They looked as they were yelling something to him, but he couldn't hear them over the crashing water around him. He had no time to react before he felt something hard hit his head and everything went black.

It was Takuya's turn to save the day as he spirit evolved and leaped into the river where the log had hit Kouji. He spotted his unconscious friend being washed downstream, tumbling against the rocks at the bottom. He kicked his powerful digimon legs and propelled forward like a torpedo. Taking Kouji into his arms, he pushed off of the river bed, rocketing towards the surface. Yet another cheer was heard on shore as Agnimon exploded out of the water and landed on solid ground.

Takuya carefully laid the unconscious boy down and devolved. The others rushed over, including Tomoki, who had hitched a ride on Junpei's back. Looking his friend over, Takuya could tell that the rocks on the river bottom had done a fair job of abusing the lithe body. Leaning over to brush a wet lock of hair off of Kouji's forehead, he discovered something terrible.

"Oh, shit! He's not breathing!"

Izumi yelped, Junpei gasped, and Tomoki started to cry. "What do we do?" they all exclaimed in perfect unison.

Takuya started panicking, racking his brains for an answer to everyone's question. He had never had any type of CPR classes, but he knew he had to do something, so trying his best to remember the hospital shows his Mom liked to watch, he started moving Kouji into a better position. Tilting Kouji's head back and pinching his nose, he hesitated for only a second before bringing his lips down to Kouji's and breathing into him.

Pulling back, Takuya checked for signs of breath, ignoring the shocked expressions on friend's faces. There was nothing. He repeated the process two more time, but there was still no change. Takuya began to panic again.

"Come on, Kouji! Breathe dammit!"

Takuya breathed into Kouji once more, but this time with different results. In mid breath, Kouji's eyes snapped open wide for a moment before he rolled over and coughed up the water in his lungs. After a few minutes of hacking and sputtering, Kouji laid back with his eyes closed, still breathing somewhat shallowly.

"Well," Izumi started after a long spell of silence, "Something tells me that we won't be going anywhere tonight. We should go and find a place to make camp.

The rest of the children agreed and started off while Takuya leaned down to help Kouji to his feet. A look of surprise appeared on his face when Kouji suddenly spoke.

"Don't touch me!"

Takuya pulled back, surprised and somewhat hurt. Kouji hadn't acted that way towards him in a long time. They had actually become quite close over their time spent in the digital world.

"Come on, Kouji. I saved your life! The least you can do is let me finish the job."

"I know it's hard for you, but think for a minute," Kouji said. He was slowly getting to his feet, using a nearby tree for support. He stood unsteadily for a moment before he continued.

"Whose fault was it that any of us were in danger in the first place?"

Takuya suddenly felt a wave of guilt and anger towards himself surge through him, but before he could do anything, he saw Kouji sway. The boy was exhausted and standing had taken the last of his strength. He suddenly pitched forward into Takuya's arms. Takuya looked down tenderly at the now unconscious boy for a moment before carefully lifting him over his shoulder and following the others to their camp for the night.

Review please!


	2. Atonement ch2

**Hiya! Thanks for the reviews I've received! I was going to wait for a couple more, but I had this chapter ready to go, so I figured I'd post it now. It's a little shorter than the lat one... oh, well.**

**Warning: This chapter contains light yaoi themes, though it's still extremely tame. Just some pretty fluff before we get to some of the good stuff. **

**Atonement **

**Chapter 2**

They made camp in a small clearing not far from the river's shore. Junpei had managed to build a fire and the shivering Tomoki was huddled next to it with Izumi's jacket wrapped around him. Kouji, who was still unconscious, was also laid out next to the fire, his own soaked jacket exchanged for Takuya's.

"How long has he been out?" Junpei asked, slightly annoyed. He had had to gather wood, start the fire, and collect what food they could find by himself, and as everyone knows, Jumpei hated physical labor.

"A few hours. What did you expect after what happened?" Izumi replied.

"Well what about Tomoki? The samething happened to him and he's awake" As much as he liked Izumi, she could really be annoying sometimes.

"Tomoki wasn't bashed in the head with a log!" Izumi was starting to get angry. Junpei was really being an insensitive jerk. "I'd like to see you nearly drown and walk around like nothing happened!"

"Come on you guys! Don't fight!" Tomoki interrupted before the situation could escalate further. He hated to see his friends fight, especially since now was really not the time. "All that matters now is that everyone is alright."

"I'm sorry Tomoki."

Three heads jerked around in surprise. Takuya, who had been silent since they made camp, was leaning against a tree a few feet away.

"I'm sorry I put you in that situation. If I hadn't forced you all to cross that bridge, none of this would have happened."

"It's not your fault Takuya," Izumi interrupted. "You couldn't have known that the bridge was in that bad a shape." She was lying through her teeth, but Takuya seemed to be genuinely sorry and she wanted to at least make him feel a little bit better. "And besides, we're all okay."

"What are you talking about! Does Kouji look okay to you!" Takuya didn't mean to yell, but he was angry at himself and Izumi's trying to make him feel better pushed him over the edge. "Kouji and Tomoki nearly drowned because of me!"

Izuni was a bit taken aback by Takuya's outburst. It was obvious that there would be no comforting the boy at this point. He was on a major guilt trip and that's something he'd have to get over on his own. Realizing that Takuya needed some time alone to think, she excused Tomoki, Junpei, and herself to collect firewood.

Takuya watched them leave, listening to Junpei's complaints and the smack of Izumi's hand on the back of his head fade away. He sighed, not wanting to think about what happened earlier that day, but finding himself unable to do anything else. How could he have been so stupid? The bridge had obviously been falling apart. Kouji had pointed it out several times, but Takuya just had to be right and Kouji almost dies because of it.

His thoughts were interrupted by a small moan. Takuya listened to the noises Kouji made in his sleep. He hated to see the other boy like this. Kouji always had such a strong spirit, for him to be like this was just… wrong. Another soft moan from the unconscious boy beckoned Takuya.

He made his way over to where Kouji was sleeping. His breathing was still shallow and he was visibly trembling. Takuya reached out to feel his forehead and nearly yanked his hand back in surprise. Kouji's skin was burning with fever. Without really thinking, Takuya gathered the boy into his arms, trying to sooth him. He settled back against a tree with Kouji in his lap and his jacket draped over both of them. He stroked Kouji's now dry hair comfortingly, just wishing that the day would end. It wasn't long before the fire's heat and the heat radiating from the boy in his lap got to him, and Takuya drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Kouji awoke slowly, realizing that he was awake but not opening his eyes. His entire body was sore and it still hurt slightly to breath. The haze in his mind was beginning to clear as his thoughts turned to the events of the night before. He felt a surge of guilt when he remembered the look on Takuya's face.

"Why did I have to say that?" he thought to himself. Takuya could be a stupid goggle-head sometimes, but he would never intentionally hurt him or any of the others. He was just careless sometimes.

Kouji's thoughts were interrupted by the realization of something warm on his head. He cracked his eyelids just enough to see the very last thing he expected to see at the moment. A sleeping Takuya was above him, bent over as if protecting him from some unseen predator. Takuya's hand was on his forehead and his other arm was wrapped around his waist. He jacket was draped carefully over the both of them.

Kouji's first reaction was to jump out of Takuya's embrace, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. The peaceful look on the other boy's face kept him there. It didn't take long before Kouji's exhaustion took him again and he fell onto a dreamless sleep.

**To Be Continued… **

**Isn't that cute? Review please!**


	3. Atonement Ch 3

**w00t! New chapter! Sorry it took so long. I had the next two chapters written out (done during school while I was supposed to be studying ), but then I lost them. That was really frustrating and I let it go for a while, but I decided to give it another go. I'm writing this totally off of what I sort of remember from before, so forgive me if it's a little off.**

**_Italics _flashbacks, 'blah' thoughts**

**Atonement**

**Chapter 3**

"Kouji! Wake up!"

Kouji woke to the feeling of being shaken. Frantic hands gripped his shoulders tightly, urging him awake. Cracking his eyelids, Kouji squinted, expecting glaring sunlight to meet his vision. Much to his surprise, the sky was still dark and a panicked looking Takuya filled his vision. Sitting up carefully, mindful of the injuries he had obtained the previous day, Kouji raised his hands, gesturing for Takuya to stop shaking him.

"What are you doing? What's wrong?"

The expression on Takuya's face could only be described as one of pure terror. His eyes were wide and filled with fear. He was breathing hard, as if been running from someone or something. Ignoring Kouji's questions, Takuya reached out again, this time physically lifting Kouji off of the ground and setting him on his feet.

Wincing as each achy bone and muscle took its turn to complain, Kouji unconsciously placed a hand on Takuya's shoulder to keep his balance. Before he even had a chance to collect himself and begin his questioning again, Kouji felt himself being pulled by the arm. Takuya, fully intent on dragging Kouji away from his resting place, turned back with an expression of confusion when the other boy, momentarily ignoring his pain, planted his feet and refused to move.

"What are you doing?" The brown-haired boy was in a panic, obviously not comprehending Kouji's reluctance to leave. "We need to get out of here now!"

Kouji gave Takuya a questioning look, wanting very much to hit the other boy for jarring his injuries, but he also knew that Takuya wouldn't panic unless he had a very good reason. "What's going on Takuya? Where are the others?"

A brief unreadable emotion flashed across Takuya's face at the question before he reverted back to the panic. Taking both of Kouji's hands in his own, Takuya gave the dark-haired boy a pleading look.

"I'll explain later, but please! Right now, we **need** to leave!"

The pleading tone in the other boy's voice finally broke through Kouji's reservations, and he nodded, following Takuya as he led them away from the still flickering campfire and into the night.

They ran for a long time, the sprints frequently interrupted by short spans of hurried walking to allow Kouji's still weak lungs some semblance of a break. After a time he could no longer keep up, stumbling on rocks and tree roots an arms length behind Takuya.Without skipping a beat, Takuya pulled Kouji to him and lifted him into a piggy-back position, continuing to run while Kouji rested limply against his back. Fear was his motivation, and what a strong motivation it was.

_Takuya woke with a start, his injured friend still wrapped within his arms. The campfire glowed brightly in front of him, flickering slightly as a small wind blew through the trees. Looking around slowly, Takuya surveyed the campsite slowly, looking for any sign of his other companions. _

'_I can't have been sleeping long if they're still not back yet. I should probably go look for them…"_

_Pushing himself into a sitting position, Takuya carefully set Kouji on the ground and stood. Standing up and stretching, he took one last look at the sleeping boy before heading into the forest in the direction the others had gone earlier. Takuya walked in a strait line for some time, following the three sets of footprints that could be seen leaving the camp. There were two sets of small feet belonging to Izumi and Tomoki, and one bigger set that had to be Jumpei's . _

"_Damn. How far did they go for firewood?" Takuya questioned out loud, sighing exasperatedly. Stepping through a small clearing of trees, Takuya's ears suddenly perked up, catching a small sound traveling on the breeze. Stopping and standing still, he cupped a hand behind his ear. After a second, he heard the sound again._

'_That sounds like Izumi, and it doesn't sound good…' _

**Ha! I left you hanging! Sorry that was so short, but it's really hard to type something I only half remember! Hopefully I'll have time to type up the next chapter and post again soon. R&R please!**


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